On Friday, August 21, 2026, shortly before 2 a.m., NW patrol officers responded to a fatal vehicle collision on northbound Interstate 430 near Stagecoach Road. Northwest Patrol officers initially attempted to stop a vehicle near Rodney Parham and Mississippi roads. Despite the officer’s emergency lights being activated, the driver fled through several streets and out of sight. Officers broadcast the vehicle description, and shortly afterward, another officer was nearly sideswiped by the same vehicle near Shackleford Road and attempted a second traffic stop. A pursuit followed onto I-430. The driver exited at Colonel Glenn and traveled east before entering the northbound I-430 exit ramp and driving south in the northbound lanes. The vehicle then collided with another vehicle and overturned. The driver was identified as 26-year-old Samuel Shelton of Little Rock. Both Shelton and his passenger, 27-year-old Jamia Renee Trotter, were ejected from the vehicle. Trotter died at the scene. Shelton sustained minor injuries and was transported to a local hospital. Shelton was later charged with First-Degree Murder, Felony Fleeing, Third-Degree Battery, Reckless Driving, and Improper Display of Tags. Supervisors, the Accident Reconstruction Unit, Arkansas State Police, and the County Coroner responded to the scene. Urine samples were collected from both drivers and submitted to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory for toxicology testing. The investigation remains ongoing.
Fatal Collision I-430
